Joe Mazzulla Reveals Kristaps Porzingis Overruled Training Staff in Game 5

Sam LaFrance | Jun 19, 2024

Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics. / Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports

Boston Celtics fans all held their breath when news broke of Kristaps Porzingis suffering a "torn medial retinaculum, allowing dislocation of the posterior tibialis tendon" in his left leg, after Game 2 of the NBA Finals.

The injury kept Porzingis out of the lineup in Game 3, and then again in Game 4, despite him being "available" to play. Once Game 5 rolled around, the big man wasn't going to just sit back and watch as his team tried to clinch Banner 18.

According to head coach Joe Mazzulla, Porzingis overruled the team's training staff and decided that he would play in the closeout opportunity.

"When it was Game 5 at home, it was like, 'Hey, this might be it; I gotta be out there.' "Mazzulla said during an appearance on "Pardon My Take." "And so, he was like, 'I'm playing.' And so he overrode the medical team there. And he was like, 'I'm playing.' And credit to him."

Following the victory, Porzingis opened up about the type of pain he had to deal with due to the injury.

"What was put out, it was the truth," he told reporters. "It was, like, something torn. And then my tendon is just out of place. And it, like, pretty much hurts on every step. Like, I would take a walk in Dallas, and my leg would swell up."

Though his leg was bothering him, KP wanted to be on the floor to help his team achieve their goal. He credited the home fans for helping him find the fuel to battle the pain.

"I was like, I don't know how I'm going to play, if I'm going to play. But my mindset was always, I'm going to try to find a way how I can manage this. And, yeah, somehow I got it going for this game. A lot of it was for sure like the adrenaline from just playing at the Garden and playing in front of our fans and having that opportunity to close it out. And, man, I got it going."